Well, again to be clear HP, you say that you're surprised that I've watched so many Penguins games but have not been impressed by him, but that's not the case. Like I said, he's a big terrific defensive player who can also chip in around 20 goals and 45-50 points for you. I don't personally think that's a player evaluation that's insulting or negative. I'd love to have a player like that on my team. He's been an important piece of a young Penguins team that's won a Stanley Cup and has been making deep playoff runs a habitual thing.
But to watch what Jordan Staal's done in his career so far, both in junior and the NHL, and deduce that not only can he do better than the point totals that he's been putting up so far, but he can double his regular goal output, and get up to 70 points? I think you're underestimating how hard that is to do in the NHL, and you're putting expectations on him that are unfair and in no way based on fact. But hey, I guess you've acknowledged this untapped potential at this point is just speculation on your part, so it's just a simple difference of opinion on that poin then. But I think you're setting yourself up for an unnecessary disappointment, just like Leaf fans with Nik Antropov. He's another big center that was drafted high that (once he got healthy) developed into a terrific two-way player who was a beast on the PK and along the boards, and could still chip in 20-25 goals and 50+ points, and I was one of his biggest fans. But a lot of Leaf fans could never get over the fact that he didn't develop into a star #1 center for us, and couldn't just appreciate the solid contributor that he did become for us.
